Suzanne Faunce will try to unseat newly appointed Warren judge

Assistant Macomb County Prosecutor Suzanne Faunce announced she will run for a Warren district court judgeship for which she was a finalist 16 months ago.

Faunce, 42, an assistant prosecutor for 15 years, will oppose Judge Dean Ausilio of 37th District Court in Warren and Center Line. Ausilio was appointed in November 2012 by Gov. Rick Snyder to fill the post left vacant by Dawnn Gruenberg, who resigned in May 2012 to become a Social Security Administration judge.

This fall’s election will fill the final two years of Gruenberg’s term. The winner will have to run again in 2016.

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Faunce is chief of the Senior Victims Unit and chief of Mental Health Court under Prosecutor Eric Smith.

“I have dedicated my professional life to protecting people in their hour of need,” Faunce said in a press release. “I am seeking election as judge of the 37th District Court because I believe the Warren and Center Line communities are best served when a true courtroom attorney presides over our most important cases.”

Smith supports her effort.

“Suzanne commands respect from all who work with her,” Smith said in the release. “She is one of the best trial attorneys in the county, and will bring firm accountability to the Warren/Center Line Court.”

Her husband, Ben Liston, is Smith’s chief of staff.

Faunce is the second assistant prosecuting attorney in Macomb to announce candidacy for a judicial post. Steve Fox is running for the seat to be vacated by retiring Judge Peter J. Maceroni of Macomb County Circuit Court.

She is the daughter of retired 37th District Judge Sherman P. Faunce and younger sister of current circuit Judge Jennifer Faunce, who also served as a 37th District Court judge and state representative. Jennifer Faunce was appointed last July to fill the vacancy created by David Viviano’s ascent to the state Supreme Court.

Suzanne Faunce was among the final five candidates to fill Gruenberg’s post and sought the appointment to fill h er sister’s seat when she was promoted by Snyder, who appointed Judge Michael Chupa in December.

Ausilio said Tuesday he wasn’t surprised by Faunce’s announcement because he had heard rumors she may oppose him. He has already filed to run, he said.

He said he believes he is more qualified than Faunce to serve in the post. He practiced in both civil and criminal law for 26 years while Faunce has only worked in criminal law on the prosecution side, he said.

“The scope of her work has been limited,” he said.

Ausilio earlier this year was voted president of the Macomb County District Judges Association by his peers.

Faunce responded back: “I’ve spent a career prosecuting child molesters and criminals who prey on seniors. To my mind, it’s the most important work a lawyer can do. ... I’ll put my courtroom experience against anybody’s.”

This will be the first contested race for a Warren district court seat since 1996, when two seats were up: Jennifer Faunce lost to Susan Chrzanowski and Judge John Chmura defeated then-court administrator James Conrad.

Suzanne Faunce has served six years as chief of the Sex Crimes Unit, and said she has appeared several times before the Senate Judiciary Committee seeking to strengthen Michigan’s laws against sex offenders.

Faunce, a lifelong Warren resident, said she volunteers for local charities. She chairs the Seniors and Law Enforcement Together Committee community outreach program, working to prevent seniors from falling victim to crime.

Faunce earned her law degree from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law and a bachelor of arts degree from Western Michigan University. She graduated from Regina High School.

About the Author

My beat is the courts of Macomb County and general assignment.
Read more of Jameson Cook's court coverage on his blog http://courthousedish.blogspot.com/ Reach the author at jamie.cook@macombdaily.com
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